Archuleta makes case to senators to be next OPM director

The nominee to be the next director of the Office of Personnel Management faced
tough questions yesterday about her experience in managing large health care
programs.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee members wanted to know
how Katherine Archuleta would implement OPM's part of the Affordable Care Act
(ACA) and handle other issues related to managing the Federal Employee Health
Benefits Plan (FEHBP).

Archuleta, the former chief of staff at the Labor and Transportation departments,
said she'd manage OPM's role in the ACA like she's managed any other program: by
depending on and, if necessary, bringing in qualified people to advise her.

"OPM has on board right now the experts in healthcare implementation, and the long
experience that OPM has in implementing healthcare is one that I will rely on as
the leader of OPM if I am confirmed," Archuleta said. "My experience is one in
which I will utilize the experiences I have had as a leader of major institutions,
working with mayors, secretaries and would utilize the teams I have put in place
to bring that expertise to OPM."

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said in response to Archuleta's description of her
qualifications, "So, I kind of read between the lines here. You don't have the
experience in healthcare, but you believe you can put together a team that does
have it. I would suggest this is probably your biggest challenge."

That exchange with Portman was probably the toughest set of questions Archuleta
faced throughout the mostly hospitable hearing.

By the end of the day, committee members expressed support for her nomination, and
Archuleta appeared to be on track to be approved. She would replace John Berry, who served four years as
OPM director. He left in April, and President Barack Obama has nominated Berry to
be ambassador to Australia.

Multi-state exchanges deadline coming

Portman and other lawmakers pressed Archuleta several different times on the ACA,
but mostly areas that would be out of her control as OPM director, such as if
federal employees should move off the FEHBP and onto the healthcare exchanges, and
whether members of Congress and just their personal staff or all staff members
have to obtain insurance through the exchanges.

Under the ACA, OPM must create a multi-state plan by contracting with private
health insurance issuers. The plan must offer at least two providers in each state
through the Health Insurance Marketplace that are available to eligible
individuals and small businesses.

The status of that effort came up several times during the hearing. Archuleta said
OPM has been working on the multi-state plan piece of the ACA for about two years.
During her briefings in preparation for the hearing, all signs point to the agency
making the Oct. 1 deadline.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), ranking member of the committee, said OPM has yet to
publish the rules that would affect members of Congress and their staffs in moving
off of FEHBP and to the health exchanges. He wanted to know if Archuleta knew the
status of those rules and whether they had come back from the Office of Management
and Budget. Archuleta said she hadn't been briefed on where the rules are in the
process.

New IT plan in 100 days

One area where Archuleta was more sure of was how she would improve OPM's
technology, especially around modernizing the retirement claims system and
reducing the backlog.

She would be at least the fourth OPM director to try her hand at this long-
standing problem — a challenge she recognizes upfront.

"I will also prioritize the improvement of the agency's IT systems. In past
attempts to transition retirement services into a digital system, OPM fell short,"
she said. "[I will] identify new IT leadership, using existing agency expertise
and seeking advice from experts inside government and the private sector, I
believe OPM can successfully update its IT systems. If confirmed by the Senate, I
will work with my senior management team to create a plan within 100 days of
assuming office on modernizing IT at OPM. I will add a chief technology officer
position specifically focused on assessing and improving the technology products
OPM uses."

Previous Director Berry decided to throw people at the problem of reducing the backlog and
improve the IT systems in small segments.

OPM has found moderate success in reducing the claims backlog. It's unclear how
much progress it has made on the technology side.

Coburn said Archuleta wants to put the new CTO on an equal footing as the agency's
chief information officer. At the hearing, he warned Archuleta about that set up.